Well-known hotelier Jehangir Cama dies at 76

Leading hotelier Jehangir Cama, 76, passed away at a private hospital in Ahmedabad on Monday evening. Cama, chairman of Cama Group, was admitted to HCG Medisurge Hospitals at Mithakali for the past 15 days for lung infection, diabetes and triple-vessel coronary artery disease.

According to hospital sources, Cama died around 5.30pm and his body was moved to his bungalow in Khanpur around 8 pm. Cama, who was highly respected in the business fraternity, held many important positions in business associations such as Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Hotel and Restaurant Associ ation (Western India).

He was one of the pioneers in bringing luxury cars like Mercedes and superbike Ducati to Ahmedabad and Gujarat. Confirming the news of Cama’s demise, CEO of HCG Hospitals, Bharat Gadhvi said, “He suffered from multiple health issues like lung infection, diabetes and triple-vessels heart disease. Hence, he was kept on ventilator. But because of his age he couldn’t recover.“

As soon as news of his death spread, Cama Group’s staff, relatives and friends arrived at the hospital and later reached his home at night to share their condolences.

Cama’s family took his body home at night.

A well-wisher of Cama family told Mirror that as per Parsi tradition the family will carry out the rituals in the morning because they don’t take the body out after sunset.

They don’t cremate or bury the body, instead they take the body to Tower of Silence also known as Cheel Ghar in Hindi and Dakhma in Persian. It is a circular, raised structure used by Zoroastrians for exposure of dead, particularly to scavenging birds.